His Little Lo
by individuall88
Summary: She and her mother were his entire world, now. It took all he had to blink back the tears as he beamed down at his daughter- his first born, and whispered softly to her, "my little, Lo." Father's Day One-shot.


**A/N:** I wrote this as a little Father's Day drabble. I know the General is supposed to be this tough hard, kind of unfeeling guy..But I think SV's version- what little we've seen of him anyway has a softer side hidden behind all that vibrato.

Happy Father's Day to all you Daddy's out there!

**His Little Lo**

If she made it through this labor alive, she was never going to allow her husband to touch her again! God, it felt like she was being tortured! She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Please God! Let this be over soon. She couldn't take much more.

It was too late for the epidural. She was cursing her pre-contractions self. Natural birth? Ha! There was nothing natural about a human being coming out of you! She didn't care what the medical books said!

"Just a few more pushes, Mrs. Lane" Dr. Sheppard said, encouragingly.

Ella fixed him with a contorted glare. He'd been saying that for at least the last half hour! This baby was crawling through her birth canal at a snails pace! A few more pushes her as-

"The head is crowning! C'mon you can do it! Just one more- push!"

Ella squeezed her husband's hand, tighter, gritting her teeth. Oh God! She couldn't do it! The baby won. Let him stay in her womb forever! She was completely spent. Every ounce of strength in her body had been drained. She went limp with exhaustion.

"Ella, honey?" Poor Sam- the General- the fixer, "just one more push."

"I can't," she panted, collapsing into the pillows behind her, boneless. "I just- can't!"

"Yes, you can. Come on just one more big push, then it'll be all over."

"Wrong." Her voice was raspy and her words grated against her sandpaper throat. She tried to smile, but her face wouldn't cooperate. "It's just starting."

Somehow, finding the strength to sit up, Ella Lane dug her fingers in the palm of her husband's hand while simultaneously squeezing a human being out of her body. "We are never having sex again!" She managed to threaten before shrieking in pain.

Then everything went dark-

The sound of screaming brought her back to consciousness. She blinked several times- the bright fluorescent lights hurt her eyes. Where was she? What was that awful noise? Then it all came back to her- her water breaking. The frantic drive to the hospital with half the U.S. army clearing the roads for their jeep. Sam almost killing the nurse at the front desk when she refused them a wheelchair, she remembered everything and she was smiling widely even though the muscles in her face protested- she didn't care. She was a mother.

"Congratulation," doctor Sheppard remarked warmly, "it's a beautiful baby- girl." The doctor handed the squirming, screaming infant to the nearest nurse. "She's certainly got quite a pair of lungs on her, doesn't she?" The doctor commented, good-naturedly while removing his bloodied latex gloves.

"Girl?" The general questioned, bemusement etched in his hard features. "But the ultra sound-"

"Must have been wrong."

"But she was carrying high-"

"Not all women who carry high have boys." Dr. Sheppard shrugged.

Ella, who was still too exhausted to even contemplate movement witnessed the exchange and wished with every part of her being she had the strength to sit up and slap her husband silly! She knew he was counting on a boy- a little soldier to call his own. Someone to follow in his footsteps, she probably shouldn't be surprised at his disappointment. But even that thought couldn't completely quell her urge to beat him with a two-by-four.

It was true that they had both had been expecting a boy. The nursery had been painted blue and trimmed with a sport's themed wallpaper, for months. The sonogram technician had been over ninety-nine percent sure they were going to have a son.

And yet, there was an army of nurses in the other room cleaning off her little girl.

This was definitely a surprise. And Ella couldn't help the feeling of joy that washed over her. She'd always wanted a daughter. And she was sure that when Sam was through throwing his tantrum -well, as much of a tantrum as a three star general could throw- he'd realize how much he wanted a little girl, too.

At least she hoped he would.

A moment later a plump blonde nurse walked into the room holding a pink-blanketed bundle, "would you like to hold her?"

Ella nodded, too emotional to speak as the nurse placed the baby gently onto her chest. She was gorgeous- absolutely flawless. She squirmed and gurgled, not liking the restriction of the blanket. Ella smiled down at her, "Hello baby. I'm your mama." She looked up at her still frowning husband. "And that is your daddy." She placed a kiss on the baby's forehead and held her close before gingerly holding her up to the general.

"Hold your daughter," it was a direct order. And Sam flinched slightly looking apprehensively between mother and child for a moment. He knew better than to refuse, the look in his wife's eyes frightened him a little. So, being the good solider that he was he took a deep breath, bent down and awkwardly took the newborn into his arms.

They say it only takes one second to completely change your life. In this case it had taken less than that.

As soon as the infant nestled into the crook of his arm, she somehow nestled into the crook of his heart, too. The general had never believed in love at first sight. He rarely believed in anything he couldn't prove or touch. But, he believed in it then- looking down at the fleshy blob in his arms, there was no way he could deny the strange hold this helpless pink alien looking thing had over him.

He was in love.

Ella Lane watch curiously as the expression on her husband's face changed from dissatisfied to awestruck. She had never, in the seven years of knowing her husband seen him even close to tears. He was strong and sturdy and stoic, the very personification of the word _General. _But as she watched him with their child, she noticed his hazel eyes going misty.

"What should we name her?" The army wife whispered, gently.

Sam didn't reply right away. He was too busy watching as the newborn managed to wriggle free from her blanket and stretch out a defiant arm. Five tiny digits wrapped themselves around his thick forefinger, grasping him tightly. It was like she was telling him how much she needed him- like she knew he was her daddy. Sam was both terrified and overwhelmed and indescribably happy in that moment.

He never wanted her to feel pain. He never wanted to disappoint her. She was beautiful- perfection. She and her mother were his entire world, now. It took all he had to blink back the tears as he beamed down at his daughter- his first born, and whispered softly to her, "my little, Lo."

**END**

**A/N:** Happy Father's Day!


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